Rebekah Grave's waters broke a few days after Christmas last year.
Luckily for her, she lived just 10 minutes' drive from the hospital she had planned to give birth in with her private obstetrician.
But even with all her planning, she was forced to travel four and a half hours to the opposite end of the state, two days later, to give birth.
Ms Grave, who lives in Somerset in Tasmania's north-west, said initially after her waters broke the plan was for her to be induced at North West Private Hospital the following day.
"They advised me about 10pm that the labour ward was full and there were no midwives available and not enough staff to assist, so they would try again the next morning," the private patient said.
"Then the next morning it was the same situation. The labour ward was full and not enough midwives to assist."
The Tasmanian branch of the Australian Medical Association last week raised concerns about the hospital – which births all public and private patients in the state's north-west under a contract with the Tasmanian government – and said it was not safe due to an insufficient number of staff.
Due to the induction delays, Ms Grave's private obstetrician, Kim Dobromilsky, started calling other maternity hospitals in Launceston, in the state's north, and Hobart, in the south, to see if they could fit her patient in.
"She said the only option is for you to go to Hobart," Ms Grave said.
"We were both in shock and disbelief, we couldn't understand what was happening. We were the only private patients on the ward, but still there was nothing they could do."
Ms Grave said she had been given antibiotics due to her waters breaking and her contractions were yet to start, but she was "really scared and highly emotional" driving to the opposite end of the state to give birth.
"They were pretty confident that everything was going to be fine, but there's still the unknown that four and a half hours' drive to Hobart where we had no assistance. It was just myself and my husband in the car."
The Graves arrived in Hobart safety and Ms Grave was induced that evening – two days after her waters broke – and on New Year's Eve, they welcomed their healthy daughter Stella.
Ms Grave said she complained to the North West Private Hospital about the situation and it responded by saying it was working on staffing issues.
She believes the issues need to be resolved now.
"We just want these issues addressed, obviously more staff, midwives and doctors so it doesn't happen again to other people," Ms Grave said.
The Tasmanian government has committed to taking back control of maternity services in the north-west by November 2024.
Unions and health professionals believe that will help with staff recruitment, staff management and continuity of care in the region, but many are concerned about what will happen in the interim.
In a letter, the Department of Health has moved to reassure women that the transition process will be "completed as efficiently and safely as possible" to address the "complexities involved in changing the way the service operates".
"We are committed to ensuring families in the North-West can access safe and reliable maternity services and will examine what immediate changes can be made to address the current concerns with the service."
Not the only story of birthing trauma
The Grave's are not alone in their traumatic birthing experience.
Dozens of other north-west coast women have formed a support group and started sharing their stories online as a way of raising awareness and helping create change.
Jacinta Chatwin is one of those women.
She gave birth to her son at the North West Private Hospital in 2021 and said her experience was also impacted by "not enough staff" on the ward.
She went into the hospital on a Sunday night for a planned induction and the process was started using prostaglandin – a gel used to soften the cervix and induce labour.
"I was induced with the gel at 6pm and they came back at 2am and said we're going to have to stop your induction because we don't have enough staff to continue with it tonight," Ms Chatwin said.
"The doctor [had] said to me it might take three lots of gel to put me in labour, whereas I was given the one and then restarted the next day."
Ms Chatwin said the experience of having the induction started and stopped, mixed with contractions lasting the whole night of delays, had made her "scared" and "stressed".
"Any positive mind-frame I had of this birth was completely gone," she said.
She said her midwives were great, but as they were run off their feet her partner also had to assist during the birth.
"My partner was showed how to use the monitor," Ms Chatwin said.
"The midwife got called to other births and he was watching the monitor telling me when to push.
"So instead of being my birthing partner and supporting me, he was my midwife."
'I wasn't getting listened to'
Amy McLachlan has been diagnosed with PTSD following her birth at the hospital 10 months ago.
Like Ms Chatwin, Ms McLachlan had an induction started and stopped due to staff shortages, and was sent back to short-term stay units near the hospital to wait until the next day when her induction would resume.
Her waters broke overnight and Ms McLachlan said she was not readmitted until she was fully dilated and ready to push around two hours later.
"I wasn't getting listened to," Ms McLachlan said.
"I was pushing for eight hours and I kept saying to the midwife something's wrong and she basically just told me I was a first time, I didn't know what to expect and everything was fine."
Ms McLachlan said following the morning shift change an "amazing and supportive" midwife took over.
She said she was assessed, and the midwife realised her baby was posterior and stuck.
She was immediately taken to theatre and her daughter Macie was vacuumed out.
"I have now been diagnosed with PTSD because her birth was so traumatic and no woman should have to go through what I went through just to have my daughter," Ms McLachlan said.
She said as the hospital did not have room to re-admit her early enough, she could not be given any pain relief.
She said a nerve in her daughter's left shoulder had also been damaged from being stuck for so long and they were seeing a paediatrician for that.
Current situation is 'soul destroying', obstetrician says
Dr Dobromilsky, who is the only private obstetrician and gynaecologist in Burnie, said the current situation was "heart-wrenching" and "soul-destroying".
"I feel as if my hands are tied behind my back," she said.
"I'm invested in my patients. My job is healthy baby, healthy mum.
"But if we can't staff for the patients, we can't look after the patients."
Dr Dobromilsky said the region was in desperate need of more midwives to help ease the situation.
"This is about real women who are pregnant who deserve to know they have a safe place to give birth," she said.
The AMA has previously said midwives and nurses are leaving the region because of the uncertain future of its maternity services.
The ABC has been told by several sources that a senior obstetrician and gynaecologist has this week resigned due to concerns around patient safety.
North West Private Hospital chief executive Keith Cock said it was safe for inductions to be started and stopped and if women were going to be sent home they were always assessed first.
"Patients are clinically assessed by a doctor and cleared to go home before they are sent home," he said.
"Patients will be given a day and time to re-present and contact details of the 1800 maternity helpline if they have any concerns or questions."
He said the hospital had adopted the Tasmanian Health Services policies around treating women whose waters had broken.
"NWPH has adopted the THS policy 'Pre labour Rupture of Membranes at Term and Prolonged Ruptured Membranes' which states that almost 60 per cent of these women will deliver within 24 hours and 94 per cent within 48 to 95 hours," he said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the safety of services at the North West Private Hospital was a "top priority" for the government.
"We will never put the safety of mothers or babies at risk," he said.
"The Department of Health continues to work with the NWPH as it transitions to a new contract and if there are changes that can be brought forward in a safe way we will ensure this occurs."
